Wilmington's N2 Publishing one of nation's fastest-growing companies

Published: Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 6:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 1, 2014 at 9:22 p.m.

In May 2004, Duane Hixon was folding towels at the Wilmington Athletic Club. It was a month after he had been released from arena football – "I played one game and missed all three of my field goal attempts."

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It was very clear, he said, that he couldn't take care of his family on towel-folding wages. By June he was selling advertising space for a neighborhood newsletter in his own subdivision and co-founding N2 Publishing.

Ten years later, he and co-founder Earl Seals are leading a company that has been among the fastest growing in the United States.

The Wilmington-based N2 Publishing is in the business of printing neighborhood newsletters – and printing alone, says Hixon. Nothing online.

It's been a successful model for the company as it turns 10 years old and moves from the North Chase Industrial Park to 33,000-square-foot digs on New Centre Drive.

And it has grown so rapidly since it began in 2004 that it has made the INC 5000 list of highest-growth companies in the U.S., ranking 1,130 in 2011, to 813 in 2012 and 926 last year.

The company now prints more than 500 publications – it'll have 1,000 in 15 months, Hixon says – principally targeting homeowner associations across the country with stories and photos contributed by the residents themselves.

N2 uses a network of more than 600 contract workers in 47 states to sell ads.

All the design, printing and shipping is done in Wilmington, however.

From three employees in Wilmington in 2004, that number has grown to well over 100 here.

"Every 15 months our company doubles in size – sales, head count. We know that in 15 months we'll have over 200 employees, so we need to be planning for that now."

That number would grow to 300 under the company's current model, he said.

"The doubling is sustainable for the next two or three years," Hixon said. "Then we have ideas of growing it in other directions," though he wouldn't discuss what they are.

The back story

Hixon described the process that brought about N2.

His mother told him that his brother was working with a local company selling advertising space for a neighborhood newsletter.

"I looked at it, and I saw that there was a company in Indianapolis doing neighborhood newsletters.

"I had a background in sales, and thought this is pretty neat. I'll go ahead and create a neighborhood newsletter for the neighborhood I was living in at the time," Farrington Farms off Gordon Road.

"I went around and started selling ad space. That was June 2004.

"I was released from football in March and spent April and May working at the athletic club," he said.

Business was awful at first, he said. But he started adding more neighborhoods, and that spurred more interest from local businesses.

"It took adding five or six neighborhoods, and then finally advertisers started to jump on board," Hixon said.

N2 didn't always print in Wilmington, outsourcing all work until it brought the work in house in year three, Hixon said.

"We started off real small. We just took profits and reinvested it. We put it back into better equipment, software, buildings and our people."

Hixon said he started N2 with a friend – Seals, who now is president. "He was looking to get out of the company where he was. We had been exchanging business ideas over the years."

'Join the madness'

Seals and Hixon met at a company doing sales when Hixon was in college.

"We started using the network that we worked with in sales and found a lot of our friends and people who were unhappy in their current careers.

"We said, 'Hey, come and join the madness. We're trying to build this thing called N2. It doesn't make any sense for you to come and work for us. We don't have the model figured out. We can't pay you any money. But we're going to give it a shot.' People decided to jump in with us," Hixon said.

The first neighborhoods were in Wilmington, then St. Louis, Omaha and Columbus, Ohio.

What most sets the company apart is its culture, Hixon says.

"People know they are cared for as people. I want to know who they are and make sure our work environment is conducive to their life outside of these walls, he said.

"I wanted to be in an industry that would give me time for my family – not a job that would force me to work evenings or weekends," Hixon said. To this day, he said, he does not work weekends. It's a philosophy that spills over into the entire workforce.

"We have a lot of paid days off," he said. The company shuts down for two weeks around Christmas and New Year's "so everyone can be with their families."

200 applications a month

Hixon said the company gets about 200 applications a month for its home office positions. "Of those, we'll hire four people," he said

The company averages one hire a week, and half of those are moving from out of state, he said.

Pay has increased with the years, Hixon says, and the company added a 401(k) plan earlier this year. Health care insurance is coming early next year, he says.

Hixon is as confident and optimistic about his products as about his employees.

"We're not getting into digital. We kind of like to think of ourselves as a Facebook in print," he said.

"Now that everyone's online all the time, it's actually cool to be in print."

Hixon describes the publications as keepsakes, "almost like a yearbook. You keep it on the coffee table.

"We are a neighborhood newsletter, so we're not trying to be the high-end magazine," he said. "It's rougher, it's raw. That's what we do. We try to hit that market."

<p>In May 2004, Duane Hixon was folding towels at the Wilmington Athletic Club. It was a month after he had been released from arena football – "I played one game and missed all three of my field goal attempts."</p><p>It was very clear, he said, that he couldn't take care of his family on towel-folding wages. By June he was selling advertising space for a neighborhood newsletter in his own subdivision and co-founding N2 Publishing.</p><p>Ten years later, he and co-founder Earl Seals are leading a company that has been among the fastest growing in the United States. </p><p>The Wilmington-based N2 Publishing is in the business of printing neighborhood newsletters – and printing alone, says Hixon. Nothing online.</p><p>CEO Hixon calls his firm the <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/facebook"><b>Facebook</b></a> of print.</p><p>It's been a successful model for the company as it turns 10 years old and moves from the North Chase Industrial Park to 33,000-square-foot digs on New Centre Drive.</p><p>And it has grown so rapidly since it began in 2004 that it has made the INC 5000 list of highest-growth companies in the U.S., ranking 1,130 in 2011, to 813 in 2012 and 926 last year.</p><p>The company now prints more than 500 publications – it'll have 1,000 in 15 months, Hixon says – principally targeting homeowner associations across the country with stories and photos contributed by the residents themselves.</p><p>N2 uses a network of more than 600 contract workers in 47 states to sell ads.</p><p>All the design, printing and shipping is done in Wilmington, however.</p><p>From three employees in Wilmington in 2004, that number has grown to well over 100 here. </p><p>"Every 15 months our company doubles in size – sales, head count. We know that in 15 months we'll have over 200 employees, so we need to be planning for that now."</p><p>That number would grow to 300 under the company's current model, he said.</p><p>"The doubling is sustainable for the next two or three years," Hixon said. "Then we have ideas of growing it in other directions," though he wouldn't discuss what they are.</p><h3>The back story</h3>
<p>Hixon described the process that brought about N2.</p><p>His mother told him that his brother was working with a local company selling advertising space for a neighborhood newsletter. </p><p>"I looked at it, and I saw that there was a company in Indianapolis doing neighborhood newsletters.</p><p>"I had a background in sales, and thought this is pretty neat. I'll go ahead and create a neighborhood newsletter for the neighborhood I was living in at the time," Farrington Farms off Gordon Road. </p><p>"I went around and started selling ad space. That was June 2004. </p><p>"I was released from football in March and spent April and May working at the athletic club," he said. </p><p>Business was awful at first, he said. But he started adding more neighborhoods, and that spurred more interest from local businesses.</p><p>"It took adding five or six neighborhoods, and then finally advertisers started to jump on board," Hixon said.</p><p>In the Wilmington area, N2 now publishes newsletters for Marsh Oaks, Landfall, Waterford, Magnolia Greens, Compass Pointe and Brunswick Forest.</p><p>N2 didn't always print in Wilmington, outsourcing all work until it brought the work in house in year three, Hixon said.</p><p>"We started off real small. We just took profits and reinvested it. We put it back into better equipment, software, buildings and our people."</p><p>Hixon said he started N2 with a friend – Seals, who now is president. "He was looking to get out of the company where he was. We had been exchanging business ideas over the years."</p><h3>'Join the madness'</h3>
<p>Seals and Hixon met at a company doing sales when Hixon was in college.</p><p>"We started using the network that we worked with in sales and found a lot of our friends and people who were unhappy in their current careers.</p><p>"We said, 'Hey, come and join the madness. We're trying to build this thing called N2. It doesn't make any sense for you to come and work for us. We don't have the model figured out. We can't pay you any money. But we're going to give it a shot.' People decided to jump in with us," Hixon said. </p><p>The first neighborhoods were in Wilmington, then St. Louis, Omaha and Columbus, Ohio.</p><p>What most sets the company apart is its culture, Hixon says. </p><p>"People know they are cared for as people. I want to know who they are and make sure our work environment is conducive to their life outside of these walls, he said.</p><p>"I wanted to be in an industry that would give me time for my family – not a job that would force me to work evenings or weekends," Hixon said. To this day, he said, he does not work weekends. It's a philosophy that spills over into the entire workforce.</p><p>"We have a lot of paid days off," he said. The company shuts down for two weeks around <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/holidays02"><b>Christmas</b></a> and New Year's "so everyone can be with their families."</p><h3>200 applications a month</h3>
<p>Hixon said the company gets about 200 applications a month for its home office positions. "Of those, we'll hire four people," he said</p><p>The company averages one hire a week, and half of those are moving from out of state, he said.</p><p>Pay has increased with the years, Hixon says, and the company added a 401(k) plan earlier this year. Health care insurance is coming early next year, he says.</p><p>Hixon is as confident and optimistic about his products as about his employees.</p><p>"We're not getting into digital. We kind of like to think of ourselves as a <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/facebook"><b>Facebook</b></a> in print," he said. </p><p>"Now that everyone's online all the time, it's actually cool to be in print." </p><p>Hixon describes the publications as keepsakes, "almost like a yearbook. You keep it on the coffee table.</p><p>"We are a neighborhood newsletter, so we're not trying to be the high-end magazine," he said. "It's rougher, it's raw. That's what we do. We try to hit that market."</p><p><i></p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic99"><b>Wayne Faulkner</b></a>: 343-2329</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @bizniznews</i></p>